UCLA’s DEI head on leave for celebrating Charlie Kirk death

UCLA’s director of race and equity was placed on leave for cheering Charlie Kirk’s murder, saying it was “OKAY to be happy” — and then doubling down by claiming he was the victim for feeling “no grief at the death of an avowed white nationalist.”

Professor Johnathan Perkins, of the school’s DEI office, posted the ghoulish message shortly after the 31-year-old conservative activist was gunned down at Utah Valley University last week.

“It is OKAY to be happy when someone who hated you and called for your people’s death dies—even if they are murdered,” Perkins, who is black, proclaimed on X.

“You cant force people to mourn someone who hated us — no matter how he died,” he added.

When a commenter wrote that Kirk was the political right’s Rush Limbaugh replacement, Perkins replied, “Good riddance to both” — an apparent reference to their deaths.

In another BlueSky comment, Perkins appeared to reply “Why shouldn’t he be dead?” when a user said they didn’t feel sad about his killing.

UCLA officials said in a statement Sunday that a “campus employee” had been placed on leave and that the school had launched an investigation into social media posts made about Kirk.

“While free expression is a core value of UCLA, violence of any kind — including the celebration of it — is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” the statement read.

Perkins himself later told the LA Times that the employee was him and insisted the posts were justified and protected by the First Amendment.

“It’s a truly sad day. My livelihood could ultimately be threatened for stating, in the clearest terms, that I felt no grief at the death of an avowed white nationalist — [a] man who dedicated his life to despising mine, to despising my people, to despising our very existence,” Perkins told the paper.

“I am devastated to learn of higher ed colleagues around the country, facing similar and much worse consequences, including termination. I admit, I thought UCLA was different. I hope we are.”

Perkins joined UCLA in 2019 and also co-hosts the podcast “Black&.”

A UCLA spokesperson declined to further comment to The Post.

Additional reporting by Caitlin McCormack